Muddy Melt Water
by make-mine-a-kiaora
Summary: Spoliers for ep 6x15 - "White as the Driven Snow". Abbott attempts to deal with the aftermath of Jane's plans for rescuing van Pelt. Originally a one shot but re-opened to tell a longer version of the story. Rating changed to T for future subject matter, to be on safe side.
1. Chapter 1

**Muddy melt water**

_Disclaimer: I am not associated with the Mentalist in any way and make no money from fanfiction._

_This contains spoilers from 6x15 "White as the Driven Snow" and is an attempt to tie up one of the loose ends at the end of this excellent episode._

_Thank you to Sue Shay and Cumberland River Relic, two talented writers, for their support, critique and friendship. Working with them is a real pleasure._

* * *

"Counsellor Duggan." Abbott greets the lawyer with his smoothest tones, noting her marked limp. "Thank you for coming. I hope all is well with you."

Duggan fixes him with a glare fit to precipitate the next Ice Age. Drawing herself to her full, if not particularly impressive, height, she dials up her anger and contempt.

"Supervisory Agent Abbott! As requested, I have made time in my busy schedule to meet with you. But make no mistake. This organisation is shambolic and I will sue the FBI for your diabolical treatment of both me and my client. You will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and that is less than you deserve. You personally and the … criminals…. that you call a team."

Seizing his chance, Abbott guides her into the first interrogation suite and pulls out the chair for her, careful to appear the perfect gentleman, before taking the other chair at the opposite side of the table. As the irate woman is racking her mind for suitable invective, he takes charge.

"Counsellor. I understand that two of my consultants, Patrick Jane and Wayne Rigsby, are responsible for leaving you by the roadside, four miles outside of Austin. For that unmannerable behaviour, please allow me to apologise sincerely."

He smiles at the counsellor, noticing her flushed face, clenched hands and grinding jaw. After a short pause to give the apology sufficient gravitas, he decides to continue, now with a hint of granite under his urbane manner.

"But the main reason that I have invited you here today, counsellor, is as a courtesy, to give you a heads up about a situation which has developed."

He straightens in his chair, elbows bent and hands loosely clasped on the table in front of him. The counsellor continues to boil, the magma chamber of her rage about to burst into full scale eruption. Unfortunately for her, he has no intention of letting her detonate.

"I understand that you advised your client, one Richard Haibach, that you wished to sue the FBI for an eight figure amount in response to his alleged treatment at the hands of our organisation. Is that correct?"

Duggan jumps to her feet, though her outrage is marred by the flinch she gives as her blistered feet and sprained ankle protest. Cursing under her breath, she grabs onto the edge of the table top before sinking back into her chair. Abbott continues to watch her in his calm, unthreatening way, his body language signalling care and concern.

"As you may be aware, I have the utmost respect for the legal profession. Therefore I thought it to be in both of our interests to have this conversation. I would hate for you to be unaware of the bigger picture here."

"Agent Abbott!" Duggan cries, twisting her mouth with distaste. "What on earth are you talking about? Members of this team harassed and victimised my client over a period of years! Mr Jane and Agent Lisbon in particular. And to that we can add threatening behaviour, wrongful imprisonment of my driver, kidnapping…."

Abbott raises his hand, cutting off the tirade before the lawyer can hit her verbal stride.

"If I may interrupt, Ms Duggan, it would be in your best interests…."

"No!" Duggan is back on her feet, though more careful to avoid her injured ankle this time. "There is nothing. Nothing… you can say. Good day to you."

She grabs her bag and turns to the door, but Abbott intervenes, no more 'Mr Nice Guy' but rather a senior FBI figure at his most authoritarian.

"Sit down, Counsellor Duggan. There is more than one kind of criminal charge which we need to discuss here."

Grudgingly the counsellor obeys.

"Let me tell you a little about Richard Haibach. Like I said, I would hate for you to be incompletely informed."

Abbott reaches into his briefcase which is resting by his chair. He pulls out a bulging file and places it, closed, on the table. Realigning it between his two palms, he considers.

"Let me see. First and foremost, I must inform you of some sad news. Richard Haibach is dead. So he is no longer your client."

Duggan looks up. She appears startled and more than a little afraid. For the first time, there are cracks in her self-righteous veneer. Abbott offers her a reassuring smile.

"Richard Haibach and his sister, Hazel Haibach, abducted Grace van Pelt and held her hostage in a remote cabin. That is now an established matter of fact. As we advised you when we spoke a few days ago, we knew that your client was involved in the kidnapping but were still gathering conclusive evidence in order to keep him in custody. And I must say, the way that Richard showed up here, without you, to taunt us…. In profiling terms, that would have alerted us to his involvement if we hadn't already known.

"So what were we to do after you insisted on his release? Hmmm?

"Let me give you some background as to the case. You may not have been aware that Grace van Pelt was acting as a consultant to the FBI at the time of her abduction. She was working on a complex investigation which involved phone hacking and the murders of a former DA, Osvaldo Ardiles, and a long serving and distinguished agent, J. J. LaRoche. Van Pelt, her husband Wayne Rigsby, and their 11 month old daughter had also been targeted by the killer, who broke into their San Francisco home last week and fired a number of shots at family members. The particular target on that occasion appears to have been the child.

"Grace van Pelt and Wayne Rigsby have exemplary service records as detectives, with many years of experience working on serious crimes, and now run their own digital surveillance agency. I invited them to Austin to maximise the use of their insights into the case. Thankfully, they left their daughter with Grace's parents. After all, who knows what might have happened. A gunman had already targeted the child once.

"So you can see why, I hope, we knew that it was a life or death situation when van Pelt, an acting member of law enforcement, was abducted from her hotel room when she was sleeping. And in deadly force situations, where life is in danger, we are permitted to use a wide range of approaches towards safe retrieval of the abductee and apprehension of the perpetrators. "

Abbott pauses, gazing at the attorney like a gentle father might at a child whose behaviour has been disappointing.

"For these reasons, Mr Jane and Mr Rigsby went undercover. Whilst not usual practice to include a spouse in a covert operation, the long collegial history between Agent Rigsby and Mr Jane alleviated our concerns, and allowed Agents Cho and Lisbon to continue to work the evidence from this end.

"Suffice to say, although Jane and Rigsby successfully located van Pelt, the operation went wrong and Agent Rigsby was shot in the chest multiple times. We understand that he was unarmed at the time and trying to free his wife. In fact, he was shot with his own service weapon. We also understand that your client shot him at point blank range in a unprovoked attack. It is almost miraculous that Agent Rigsby has survived, at least so far, so the kidnapping aspect of the case includes two incidents of attempted murder.

Abbott pauses once more, considering the counsellor. Her fury seems to be collapsing. She's trying not to fidget. It's time to press home the advantage.

"We can confirm now that Richard Haibach and his sister, Hazel, together abducted Grace van Pelt. We found them in a remote cabin in the New Mexico mountains. Van Pelt had been bound and gagged with tape and held at gunpoint during a terrifying 76 hour ordeal. Your client and his sister were together holding Mr Jane and Agent van Pelt at gunpoint, when we arrived. They had already shot Agent Rigsby twice and left him for dead. Richard Haibach had been threatening to cut off Jane's fingers with an axe, when a critically injured Rigsby dragged himself to his wife's aid and tackled Hazel Haibach, grabbing her gun and saving Mr Jane. This can be independently verified by other members of the SWAT team that accompanied Agents Cho, Lisbon, Fischer and myself to the scene to stage an intervention in the kidnapping, and by forensics. Richard Haibach was lawfully killed by a serving officer in order to protect the lives of himself, van Pelt and Jane in the face of a clear and present threat."

Abbott pauses for a few moments, giving time for his words to be absorbed by the lawyer.

Counsellor Duggan looks nauseated. Her hand shakes as she reaches across to the jug at the centre of the table and pours herself a tall glass of water. Still trembling, she sips and then places it back on the table before raising her gaze to Abbott once more.

"Please continue."

"As you wish."

Abbott opens the file, selecting two images. The first is a remote cabin amidst blood stained snow and the second a picture of Wayne Rigsby's unconscious body, taken shortly after he collapsed before the paramedics arrived. As Duggan gulps, Abbott nods in acknowledgement before continuing.

"So, to recap. Your client is guilty of two counts of attempted murder of a police officer, kidnapping of another officer, unlawful imprisonment of said officer and attempt to cause grievous bodily harm to a further member of law enforcement. We also have evidence to directly indict him for the murders of Agent JJ LaRoche and Osvaldo Ardiles. The alibis that Richard Haibach presented for those murders were fabricated. And we need to mention the attempted murder of Wayne Rigsby, Grace van Pelt and baby Madelaine Rigsby during an armed invasion of the Rigsby family home. The small matter of unlawful electronic surveillance on several state agents should, in addition, be taken into account. It proves that the vicious attacks were calculated and one hundred per cent premeditated.

"As I said, you needed to be fully appraised of the facts of this case."

The counsellor is slumped in her chair with the fingertips of her right hand pressed to the bridge of her glasses. She is looking less of a threat now so Abbott continues.

"Now, onto the next matter in hand. Your client's accusations of harassment levelled at both Agent Lisbon and Mr Jane for investigating him with regards to the phone hacking, home invasion and murders of LaRoche and Ardiles. As you know, we have a legal responsibility to investigate all potential suspects in cases which involve such serious crimes. And since your client was the perpetrator, he actually had no case for his accusations.

"Are we clear so far?"

"Crystal." Duggan snorts like a bucking bronco submitting to the leading rope. "But this does not obliterate the unprofessional and irresponsible behaviour of members of this unit. Or the past abuse that my client suffered at the hands of Mr Jane and Agent Lisbon."

Abbott nods slowly, as if giving the point careful consideration. He leans back, resting his hands on his knees.

"Whilst I have no need to do this, I will, in recompense for your poor treatment by some members of this team, tell you a little more of what we have discovered about Richard Haibach and his dealings with the police. It is an ongoing investigation but, since he is dead and therefore unable to stand trial, I will make an exception for you.

"Haibach first came to the attention of Sacramento PD as a viable suspect in the case of the San Joaquin Killer, a serial murderer who targeted young women. When the open case was transferred from Sacramento PD to Agent Lisbon's team at the CBI, Haibach was questioned again. Something which he interpreted as police persecution. During this time, Haibach's suspected pedophilia came to light in the form of large numbers of photos of young girls, but there was insufficient evidence to bring charges.

"Later, Robert Kirkland, who was a Homeland Security Agent turned rogue in the search for Red John, searched Mr Jane's private files in a covert operation. This led Kirkland to believe, incorrectly, that Haibach may be Red John. Kirkland kidnapped and tortured Haibach. This was not Jane's doing. Kirkland was arrested but died in custody."

Duggan clenches her fists where they rest on the table top and studies the back of her knuckles. Her shallow nod gives Abbott his cue to continue.

"Since Haibach appeared on our radar a few days ago, we have carried out some extensive investigations. It is now certain that he was involved in a pedophile ring in California. For example, the family home in Sacramento, where he used to live and which is now occupied by his sister, has a hidden room in the cellar, soundproofed and concealed behind two metal doors, that has been set up for the incarceration of children. That room was first mentioned in a SacPD report from the time that Kirkland abducted Haibach, but for some reason was not followed up on. And that is by no means all. I am not going to go into details but I will advise you that there is more direct evidence linking Richard and Holly Haibach with child abuse, and this investigation is ongoing. We will continue to work the case in order to bring closure to the families of the eight young girls who were targeted by these two predators."

He is pleased to see that the attorney is somewhat pale and appears to be sweating. It is time to bring the discussion to a conclusion.

"So you see, I can understand your wish to extract an eight figure settlement from the FBI in alleged recompense for Haibach's perceived wrongs at the hands of law enforcement… but I can assure you that any such action would go to court. And the accusations of a dead serial murderer and serial child rapist are not likely to receive much support. There would be intense media interest too, which could reflect very badly on the parties bringing such an action.

"Now, if you would like to further progress this, be my guest."

Duggan squirms in her seat under Abbott's level gaze, her eyes fixed on the top right hand corner of the room. After a few moments, she capitulates.

"Very well. Thank you for advising me of the larger picture here and the ongoing investigations into my former client. I will advise my company that no further action is to be taken."

Maintaining his apparent affability, Abbott stands and holds the door, gentlemanly behaviour back in play. He does not, however, offer to arrange a cab, or to assist the stricken woman and her sore feet. He watches her leave, monitoring the elevator lights until he can see the ground floor light up.

After pouring himself a coffee, Abbott heads back to his own office, where he can at last let his control slip. Standing by the window, he watches people on the Austin streets come and go as he enjoys his drink. He permits himself a satisfied smirk. One persnickety lawyer heading off into the sunset suitably chastised. It had been a good day.

And he still has a deck of aces unused. Courtesy of one Walter Mashburn, who apparently claims a close friendship with Lisbon and Jane, and who has a large corporate account with a certain law firm. Funny how these things work out. Duggan's firm's managers had backed away terrified after just a phone call earlier in the day. It was as well that the misguided harpie hadn't had any way to sue, but she didn't know that, and today's whipped pup is tomorrow's attacking Rotweiler after all.

Abbott closes his eyes for a few moments to drink in the tranquillity, glad that he'd been able to defuse the situation before Duggan had begun her loaded cannon act. It's a principle that has rarely failed him – except of course with Jane - that a little calm and goodwill goes a long way, especially when herding metaphorical tigers.

He's glad that this debacle is now over but recalls that there is also the unsettling observation from reading the Sacramento PD files concerning Haibach's interest in young girls. It's strange that his cellar room was just ignored. Best case, a filing error. Worst case, the Blake Association had set up a ring of helpers with useful skills that they could call on. It would fit with the cover up of a serious crime, and the "I'll scratch your back…" mentality. And, at the same time, for corrupt cops to have access to a photographer skilled in photoshop and the like…. That would be a clear asset.

Abbott shakes his head as he recalls the worst of the Blake scandal. He'll have to get Wiley to dig around in the SacPD files tomorrow. Check for no strange correlations.

Returning to his desk, he opens another file and sighs. Holly Haibach. This would be an interesting one. Assuming that she's ever deemed mentally competent enough to stand trial that is, which was by no means a given.

But for now the day was over and the bullpen was empty. Holly could wait, whereas Alicia, Dennis's partner of 4 years, could not.

Time to shut down the laptop and go.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with The Mentalist in any way and make no money from fanfiction.

With thanks to Sue Shay and Cumberland River Relic for their friendship, support and insight. Particular thanks to Cumberland river relic for critiquing an early version of this chapter.

* * *

_8.25am the next day_

Abbott drains his mug and puts it down at the edge of his desk. Having fortified himself with his morning caffeine fix, he picks up the Richard Haibach file once more. On top of this, he stacks resources pulled from the California archives. There are tapes of the various SacPD interviews with Richard Haibach and of the ones carried out at the CBI. And reports of the incident with Robert Kirkland, where Benjamin Marks was killed and Haibach and Jane were both taken prisoner.

Not for the first time, Abbott marvels at the tendency with which Jane attracts trouble. If it weren't for Lisbon and her CBI team, he'd be dead many times over. Though he did do the FBI a favour by insisting that his 'guardian angel' join the unit. She's proven to be a first rate cop.

Returning to the files, Abbott runs over the connections in his mind. Lisbon and van Pelt were the first to suspect pedophilia, and to arrest Haibach, but they didn't find the entry to the basement. It must have been well hidden. Or they'd ruled Haibach out as the San Joachin Killer sufficiently early to make a thorough search unlawful - given that the photographs weren't illegal and there was no suspicious history of any other wrongdoing on file.

Haibach was then released after his particularly obnoxious lawyer threatens to sue. So no change there. Different attorney but same MO.

Then Kirkland abducts Richard, acting out the Agent's Red John revenge fantasies, and Haibach loses his thumb. Kirkland must have hidden it somewhere because it's never reunited with its owner and therefore can't be reattached. Kirkland is taken into custody by FBI Agent Reede Smith. Smith later admits to Jane and Lisbon that he is a member of the Blake Association, and that Kirkland was gunned down en route to prison for getting too close to the truth about the existence of the Association.

_What an unholy mess_.

Meanwhile, it is Cho and Rigsby who discover that Haibach has been abducted when they visit his house to warn him that he may be in danger, and find streaked blood and matted hair samples instead. They quickly search the building, noting the cellar vault, which is open, and report this to SacPD to follow up on. They continue with the search for Haibach's whereabouts, and subsequently for Jane's. The Kirkland case takes precedence.

According to Cho, he filed a report with the CBI authorities to say that Haibach was a person of interest in illegal activities and to request an initial follow up by SacPD. This was sent by e-mail, with a copy also being provided to SacPD, as was procedure. Both these e-mails appear to have vanished. Either Cho forgot to do this, which is unlikely, or this is looking fishy.

Time to gather the troops and to find out exactly what Cho, Lisbon and Jane do remember about these events. And to ask Wiley to search for the missing report.

* * *

Three hours later, Abbott is back at his desk, ruminating over the discussions in the conference room. Based on everything that has been said, it seems that the safest way is to treat the Haibach case as potentially relating to the Blake Association corruption. And to comb back through the lists of Californian officers, drawn from the FBI, CBI or local PDs, who were proven to be part of the Blake conspiracy, looking for any links from them to Richard Haibach.

_Will the Blake Association ever truly be laid to rest? Two years on and it's still causing trouble._

Even with Wiley's expert computer work, it's going to be a painstaking process. Not to mention that Wiley's also working on cracking some of Haibach's alibis. Whilst the murderer is dead, it's important to understand his reach and the methods that he was able to use.

At least the one for Grace's abduction is now explained. And it's all very clever. Richard Haibach was a far smarter cookie than anyone had realised, even Jane.

Abbott pauses for a moment as he recalls Wiley's initial garbled explanation and then the more concise version as translated by Cho.

A number of e-mail accounts have been identified based on Haibach's known addresses and those of his sister. From the information obtained on one of them, using Jane's expertise to guess the password, it can be seen than Haibach did a lot of hacking but at a fairly basic level. For the more complex stuff, like bugging FBI agents, he must have had outside help. Though where from is still unknown.

Richard Haibach hacked the ticket office for the bus route. He must have identified people who travelled daily, and who therefore were unlikely to differentiate one day from another. Using the ID pictures on the electronic copies of their season tickets, he then selected suitable 'witnesses' for different parts of the journey. Afterwards, he undertook the bus ride himself, gathering all the corroborating evidence but a week earlier, giving him time to be in Austin for Grace's abduction. Then, with a little computer knowhow, he obtained a new ticket and photoshopped onto this an updated ticket stamp to give himself an alibi.

Smart.

And whilst they hadn't proved it yet, it was likely that Haibach had one or more false passports, which had allowed him to travel between Chicago, San Francisco, Denver and Austin, without being identified.

Sighing, Abbott rubs his thumbs over his temples as he tries to make sense of things. Wiley is going to have his work cut out, without a doubt, and it's not something that the others can really help him with. Though Jane's experience with slipping the country after murdering McAllister might prove useful in teasing Haibach's approaches apart. If Jane would share that information.

Not for the first time, Abbott wishes that they'd managed to get Grace van Pelt on board. She and Rigsby had been put on temporary one month contracts when they arrived in Austin, so there was some framework for asking her to assist. But she was at her husband's bedside in a Taos hospital and wasn't likely to have much time for work in the near future… At least they'd been affiliated long enough for both Grace and Wayne to be covered by the Bureau's health insurance.

_4pm_

This case was turning into a monster. Or rather a big black hole able to munch everything in sight. Time. Money. Personnel. Patience. As good for morale as a winter north of the Arctic Circle.

And Abbott still had one important job to do for the day. A preliminary interview with Hazel Haibach.

Tossing things over in his head, Abbott wondered what best to do. Perhaps he and Fischer should take the interview, with Jane, Cho and Lisbon in the observation room? Jane was too personally involved to be part of the interrogation, but his insights were needed. And Cho was likely to cause grievous harm to someone who had been involved in the abduction of a former colleague and the shooting of his former work partner. Whilst Lisbon's emotions undoubtedly also ran strong, she was the best bet for controlling the other two and getting them to listen.

* * *

_4.30pm_

That was a total waste of time. The one person who could provide concrete evidence about Richard Haibach's activities was refusing to talk. After a 20 minute interview, during which the suspect had not said a word, Abbott and Fischer had both had enough.

Still, tomorrow was another day. Time to finish some paperwork and then go home and sleep on things.


End file.
